Mechanic's Liens and Judgment Liens on a House

A mechanic's lien is a claim recorded against a house by someone who worked on it or supplied materials and says they were not paid; a judgment lien is created when a creditor who won a money judgment in court records an abstract of that judgment with the county recorder. Both attach to the property, not just to you, so a sale cannot close with clear title until each one is paid, released or bonded. In practice the title company finds them on the preliminary title report, escrow asks each lienholder for a written payoff, and the amount is paid from your proceeds at closing, once the lienholder signs the release that escrow needs.

This article is part of our series on behind on payments, liens and tax defaults. If a missed mortgage is part of the picture too, start with behind on payments in California: your options, the timeline and the two numbers. This page describes the rules; an attorney applies them to your file.

What a mechanic's lien is

California's mechanics lien law sits in the Civil Code, starting at section 8400. That section gives a lien right to anyone who provides work authorized for a work of improvement, and names six kinds of claimant: a direct contractor, a subcontractor, a material supplier, an equipment lessor, a laborer and a design professional. The Contractors State License Board puts it plainly: a mechanics lien is "a 'hold' against your property," and "the homeowner is ultimately responsible for payment," even if the homeowner already paid the direct contractor. That last point surprises people. If your contractor took your money and did not pay the supplier, the supplier may still have a lien right against your house.

The law also sets tight deadlines, and many liens fail on them:

• Recording. Under section 8412, a direct contractor must record its claim after completing the contract and before the earlier of 90 days after the whole work of improvement is completed, or 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation. Under section 8414, other claimants have until the earlier of 90 days after completion or 30 days after a notice of completion or cessation.
• Preliminary notice. Section 8200 requires most claimants to give the owner a preliminary notice before they can record a lien. Two exceptions matter: a laborer does not have to give one, and a claimant with a direct contract with the owner only has to give one to a construction lender, if there is one.
• The lawsuit clock. Section 8460 says the claimant must start a court action to enforce the lien within 90 days after recording it. If it does not, and no recorded extension of credit applies, "the claim of lien expires and is unenforceable."

What a judgment lien is

A judgment lien starts in a courtroom, not on a job site. Someone sues, wins a money judgment, and records an abstract of that judgment with the county recorder. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 697.310, that creates a judgment lien on real property lasting 10 years from the date the judgment was entered, unless it is satisfied, released or renewed. Section 697.340 says it attaches to the debtor's real property in that county, including property acquired later.

Section 674 says the abstract must show the court and case number, the date of entry, the address where the summons was served and the amount. When one shows up on your title report, it tells you which case to look up.

Can a lien be put on your house without you knowing?

Yes, it can happen, though the law tries to make it hard. Here is where the gaps are.

• Mechanic's liens are mailed, not handed to you. Section 8416 requires a copy of the claim, with a boldface "NOTICE OF MECHANICS LIEN," to be served on the owner. Mailing counts, and it can go to the owner's residence or business, or to the address on the building permit for the work. If you have moved, rent the house out, or the permit carried a different address, the letter may never reach you. If service is not made the way the section requires, the lien is unenforceable as a matter of law, but it is still sitting in the record until someone clears it.
• Your own contractor may not send a preliminary notice. Because of the section 8200 exception, a contractor you hired directly may record a lien without a preliminary notice to you first.
• Judgment liens follow lawsuits you may have missed. A lawsuit served at an old address can end in a default judgment, and the abstract can be recorded without any letter that reaches you.
• A lien can outlive the dispute. An expired lien, or a paid judgment never documented as satisfied, can sit in the record for years.

The fix: look at the record before you set a closing date.

How a lien is found before a sale

Two places show recorded liens.

1. The preliminary title report. Once escrow opens, the title company searches the county records and lists every recorded item that affects title, including deeds of trust, tax liens, mechanic's liens and abstracts of judgment. This is the document that matters, because it is what the buyer's title insurance will be written against.
2. The county recorder. Recorded documents are public. An Upland house records with the San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk; a house across the county line in Claremont records with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. You can search the official records by name before escrow opens, which gives you time to deal with a surprise.

One Upland wrinkle: San Antonio Heights has an Upland mailing address but is unincorporated San Bernardino County, so its building permits come from the county, not the City of Upland. Since section 8416 allows a lien to be mailed to the address on the building permit, check which office issued the permit for a remodel when working out where a notice may have gone.

How each lien is paid off at closing

Escrow handles a lien the way it handles a mortgage: it asks the lienholder for a written figure, pays it from the sale proceeds, and makes sure the right release document records.

LienWhat escrow asks forWhat clears the recordAmount

Mechanic's lien, undisputed

A written payoff from the claimant

A recorded release of the lien, signed by the claimant

-

Mechanic's lien, disputed

A decision: pay, bond or challenge

A recorded lien release bond (section 8424) or a court release order (sections 8480 and 8490)

-

Mechanic's lien, expired

Proof no enforcement action was filed in time

A court release order; the claimant may also record a release voluntarily

-

Judgment lien

A written payoff from the creditor or its attorney

A recorded acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment (section 724.060)

-

Paying an undisputed claim. The simplest path. California prescribes the waiver and release forms a paid claimant signs, in Civil Code sections 8132 through 8138; a conditional release on final payment takes effect only once payment is received. The title company decides which release it needs.

Disputing a claim. Under section 8424, an owner who disputes a lien can record a lien release bond from an admitted surety insurer, in an amount equal to 125 percent of the claim. Once it records, the property is released and the dispute moves to the bond, so a sale need not wait for it to end. Whether a bond fits your file is a question for your attorney.

A lien that has expired. If no suit was filed within the section 8460 window, section 8480 lets the owner petition the court for a release order, which records under section 8490. The CSLB suggests first asking the claimant in writing, by certified, registered or express mail, to remove the lien, and warns that the petition may require an attorney.

A judgment lien. When a money judgment is paid, section 724.030 requires the creditor to file an acknowledgment of satisfaction, and section 724.060 says it must be recorded in each county where the abstract was recorded to release the lien there. Escrow usually conditions payment on receiving a recordable one. Whether a homestead exemption limits a judgment lien on your home (section 704.950 covers declared homesteads) is a question for an attorney.

What liens do to the two numbers

A lien is paid from the price in both columns. It changes the net and, sometimes, the calendar.

LineAs-is cash offerOpen-market read

Price

-

-

Less: mortgage payoff

-

-

Less: mechanic's lien payoff or bond cost

-

-

Less: judgment lien payoff

-

-

Less: repairs, selling and closing costs

-

-

Estimated net to you

-

-

The open-market read is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. It is not an automated estimate and not a certified appraisal; it is a likely sale price drawn from comps, set next to an as-is cash purchase offer on the same house. When listing wins: if the liens are undisputed, there is time for a listing to run, and the house shows well, the open market will usually net more, and the written recommendation says so. You are then introduced to a designated local expert, an independently licensed agent who works your area. Mr. Cali Offers never lists a house. A cash buyer's terms can matter more when a disputed lien or a short calendar would scare off a financed buyer, and even then the closing happens only once title is clear. If the liens and loans add up to more than the house would bring, read short sales: when you owe more than the house is worth. Liens from a city or code case work differently; see code liens and title.

What this looks like in practice

These are the kinds of files that come in, described without names or figures.

• An Upland owner who paid a roofer in full, then found a supplier's mechanic's lien on the title report. Whether it was recorded on time went to an attorney first.
• An owner who learned of an old abstract of judgment only when escrow opened. Escrow needed the creditor's written payoff and a recordable acknowledgment of satisfaction.
• An owner with a lien and a missed mortgage, where the lien was one more line the price had to clear before a trustee sale date; see selling before a trustee sale.

If you want both numbers with every lien you know about on its own line, see selling a house with tax liens or other recorded liens, or call (909) 498-3977. There is no cost and no obligation to get the two numbers and the written report.

Sources

• California Civil Code section 8400 (who is entitled to a mechanics lien): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code sections 8412 and 8414 (recording deadlines): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code section 8200 (preliminary notice): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code section 8416 (claim contents and service on the owner): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code section 8424 (lien release bond): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code section 8460 (90 days to enforce): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code sections 8480 and 8490 (release order): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Civil Code section 8136 (conditional waiver and release on final payment): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Code of Civil Procedure sections 697.310 and 697.340 (judgment lien on real property): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Code of Civil Procedure section 674 (abstract of judgment): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Code of Civil Procedure sections 724.030 and 724.060 (satisfaction of judgment): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Code of Civil Procedure section 704.950 (judgment liens and declared homesteads): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Contractors State License Board, What is a Mechanics Lien?: cslb.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Contractors State License Board, What if a Mechanics Lien is Filed on Your Property?: cslb.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk, Document recording: arc.sbcounty.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• San Bernardino County Countywide Plan, San Antonio Heights (unincorporated community): countywideplan.sbcounty.gov, accessed November 6, 2026

Mr. Cali Offers is not a law firm or a title company. Cash offers come from independent buyers and investors who buy for their own account and may resell for profit; a cash offer is generally below what the open market would bring. Any value shown is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.